Ancient Byzantine 6-Piece Bronze Weight Set 112.31g Lathe-Turned Uncia Standard For Sale

Ancient Roman / Byzantine Bronze Nested Commercial Weight Set (6 Pieces — 112.31g Total)

Authenticity & Guarantee

• Provenance: Ex-private European collection, legally acquired from international auctions; Roman / Byzantine sphere.

Item Specifications & Exact Metrological Calibration

• Object: Complete 6-Piece Cast Bronze Balance Scale Weight Set (Pondera)

• Culture / Period: Roman Imperial to Early Byzantine Period

• Date Range: Circa 3rd Century AD – 7th Century AD

• Total Combined Mass: 112.31 grams

• Material: Cast Bronze (Copper Alloy)

• Form & Architecture: Graduated set of biconical, polygonal, and disc-shaped bronze weights featuring lathe-turned top faces adorned with hand-carved concentric circle motifs ("dot-and-ring" / annulet decoration); engineered as a nested precision scale kit for commercial trade

• Metrological System (Roman Libra / Uncia Standard):

  • Unit 1 (59.83g): 2 Unciae (Sextans — 1/6 Libra)

  • Unit 2 (30.36g): 1 Uncia (Uncia — 1/12 Libra)

  • Unit 3 (14.99g): 1/2 Uncia (Semuncia — 1/24 Libra)

  • Unit 4 (4.23g): 1/6 Uncia (Sextula — 1/72 Libra)

  • Unit 5 (2.02g): 1/12 Uncia (Scripulum — 1/288 Libra)

  • Unit 6 (0.89g): 1/24 Uncia (Siliqua Standard / ~0.9g)

• Condition: Exceptional, complete 6-piece set. Sharp geometric facets and distinct lathe ring details preserved under an authentic chalky-green to earthen-tan cuprite burial patina. Uncleaned and free of modern restoration or tooling.

Roman & Byzantine Scale Weight Sets

In ancient Roman and Byzantine commercial markets (macella), merchants, goldsmiths, and money changers carried compact, multi-piece weight sets to evaluate coins, precious metals, and high-value spices. These weights were precisely cast and lathe-finished in exact graduated fractions of the Roman pound (libra ~327g) and its primary division, the uncia (~27.3g).

Concentric Ring Decoration & Verification

The incised concentric circles on the top surfaces served as official lathe-turning markers and verification guidelines indicating that the piece had been shaved and calibrated to standard weight fractions by civic market officials (agoranomoi / zygostates).

Typological Analysis & Exact Classification

• Primary Class: Roman / Early Byzantine Bronze Scale Weight Set

• Sub-Class: Lathe-Finished Concentric Ring / Biconical Class

Comparable Archaeological Examples & Museum Accession Numbers

• British Museum (Accession No. 1980,1001.1-6): Roman bronze nested scale weight set with lathe-turned circles.

• Metropolitan Museum of Art (Accession No. 66.1.1-.6): Byzantine copper-alloy commercial weight set.

• Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Object No. BZ.1963.8): Late Roman / Byzantine lathe-finished bronze weight set.